Income Tax

News about Income Tax, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 25, 2015

Treasury Dept announces that roughly 50,000 taxpayers who already filed returns based on inaccurate data sent by HealthCare.gov will not have to refile; those affected will, however, be able to submit new returns if they expect updated data to generate a larger refund. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Nearly 800,000 Americans who enrolled in insurance policies through HealthCare.gov are sent wrong information on forms they need to complete their 2014 tax returns; mistake could cause hardship for lower-income Americans who are qualified for subsidized insurance. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Lawmakers in Washington from both parties say they are committed to reforming byzantine tax code, but as tax season arrives yet again it is clear that reformers have momentous challenge given that every deduction in code has ardent defenders; latest example of problem's complexity was Pres Obama's education proposal, which was hijacked by suggestion to discontinue tax exemption for 529 education accounts. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Tips for filing 2014 taxes, including navigating new paperwork necessary due to Affordable Care Act. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Internal Revenue Service has program that gives taxpayers who owe back taxes way to possibly cut amount they owe, but process requires that taxpayers to make payment offer and prove they are unable to pay full amount. MORE

Feb. 15, 2015

Hypothetical tax return for family of five in New York State offers guide to how individuals can arrange for larger tax cut by navigating complex rules that determine tax liability. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Walmart announces plan to offer customers' income tax refunds in cash at some 3,000 stores; offering, which will be rendered without fee, is intended to encourage purchases at a time of sluggish sales; comes amid company's push into financial services. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Kansas Gov Sam Brownback proposes tax increases and pulls back his plan to reduce state income tax in wake of budget woes; move is a significant turn for Brownback, Republican who has made cutting taxes and shrinking government centerpieces of his government. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

Report by Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds state and local tax systems in United States are almost universally unfair, with poorest residents paying highest percent of their income and wealthy paying lowest; analysis finds trend is growing worse, and may be contributing to widening income inequality. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Ann Carrns Your Money Adviser column offers advice for taxpayers who use commercial software to prepare their taxes, specifically about how to choose which program best suits their needs; answers questions about filing 2014 taxes with the different tax software available. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Chinese government is set to require citizens and companies to pay taxes on income earned worldwide, regulation previously ignored; move puts nation on same footing as United States in its attempts on taxing expatriates; effort could not only increase government revenues but also play important part in Pres Xi Jinping's efforts to quash corruption. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

Kansas Gov Sam Brownback's plan to address state's budget shortfalls has stoked unease, even among his Republican allies; Brownback may even consider rolling back deep income tax cuts that he defended throughout his campaign for re-election, but raising taxes may be hard sell for Legislature dominated by Republicans from state's conservative wing. MORE

Dec. 8, 2014

Op-Ed article by Jonathan Tepper, expatriate founder of company Variant Perception, explains his decision to forsake his American passport in favor of sole British citizenship; cites onerous financial reporting and tax filing requirements that are neither fair nor just; calls on United States to end its outdated and byzantine extraterritorial tax policies. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Editorial supports Pres Obama's well-timed veto threat that scuttled a flawed tax deal; holds move is good indication that Obama and some Democrats will be successful in blocking the worst proposals to come up in this lame-duck and future sessions of Congress; says some proposed tax breaks for 2015 and beyond are worthwhile but others are special-interest giveaways and hugely wasteful handouts; urges Congressional Republicans to create acceptable package by dropping wasteful corporate tax cuts and including provisions to help low- and middle-income workers. MORE

Nov. 16, 2014

The Upshot; one intriguing question heading into 2016 presidential campaign is how serious Republicans are about trying to change their constituency and attract more Americans from lower income brackets; party has focused on tax cuts for the wealthy for decades, but a focus on cutting taxes for struggling middle class could broaden party's appeal. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

The Upshot; officials in Kansas are expecting to collect more income tax revenue in 2014, but state is not on track to do so; Kansas, with four months of collections in, is 11 percent behind last year's pace. MORE

Nov. 11, 2014

The Upshot; Democratic Party's not-very-clear short-term plan to help the middle class and address slowdown in wages in part led to its losses in midterm elections; question facing both parties as 2016 presidential campaign begins to stir is how party will respond to wage slowdown; best hope for lifting middle-class incomes in immediate future is tax cut. MORE

Oct. 23, 2014

The Upshot; Kansas has missed its tax revenue targets again after income tax cuts, and state is in for new fiscal pain as result; state collected $330 million less in taxes than it had forecast for fiscal year 2014, and $700 million less than it collected in 2013. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

Op-Ed article by Prof Edward D Kleinbard contends addressing income inequality in America through tax structure is wrong way to think about the issue; calls for a progressive fiscal system, which would encompass both the tax and spending sides of government. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column notes that some conservatives have lamented about decadence of the modern elite and their ostentatious living habits; contends criticizing rich for their vulgarity is just as offensive as lecturing poor about their moral failings; maintains that if one supports curbing ostentatious behavior of the rich, one should support tax policy that would reduce elite's privileges. MORE

Jul. 21, 2014

Analysis by New York City's Independent Budget Office finds that share of higher-income households that moved from city in 2012 equaled share of lower-income households that left; finding undermines frequent assertion that wealthy people reflexively flee the city for low-tax states, particularly in light of Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign focus on raising taxes on wealthy. MORE

Jul. 14, 2014

Editorial contends ill-advised tax cuts passed in Kansas by Gov Sam Brownback and his fellow Republicans in 2012 and 2013 are reason for state's plummeting revenues; maintains Kansas has clearly shown that states cannot cut their way to prosperity. MORE

Jul. 1, 2014

Illinois Gov Pat Quinn approves 2015 state budget that he has criticized as incomplete for not extending a temporary income tax increase. MORE

Jun. 30, 2014

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column holds economy of depressed state of Kansas after large-scale income tax cuts illustrates enduring power of bad ideas, as long as they serve interests of powerful people; says cuts, approved by Gov Sam Brownback, closely follows blueprint created by the American Legislative Exchange Council, secretive group financed by major corporations; holds faith in tax-cut magic is not about evidence, but about giving powerful interests what they want. MORE

May. 7, 2014

Republican-controlled Legislature in Missouri overrides Democratic Gov Jay Nixon's veto of new tax bill and passes $620 million income tax cut, first for state in close to 90 years; move comes weeks after some House Republicans had threatened to impeach Nixon, underscoring animosity that has come to characterize relations between state's Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers. MORE

May. 6, 2014

Missouri's Republican-led State Senate votes to override Democratic Gov Jay Nixon's veto of major tax-cut bill, setting stage for sharp reductions in state personal income taxes; measure now goes to the House for a vote. MORE

May. 2, 2014

Missouri Gov Jay Nixon vetoes legislation cutting income taxes for millions of residents and thousands of business owners; says measure could jeopardize funding for schools and other services. MORE

Apr. 18, 2014

Floyd Norris High & Low Finance column notes that wealthy Americans face significant tax increases starting in 2013 that are greater for investment income, much of which goes to the super-rich; says taxpayers reporting more than $10 million in income pay lower tax rates than do taxpayers reporting $500,000 to $10 million. MORE

Apr. 13, 2014

Robert J Schiller Economic View column notes that the United States' progressive tax system already serves to mitigate income inequality, and could be tweaked to respond more strongly whenever the income gap widens. MORE

Apr. 12, 2014

Pres Obama and first lady Michelle Obama release their 2013 tax returns, showing sharp decrease in personal income since 2012; had paid total of $98,169, with 2013 adjusted gross income of $481,098; Vice Pres Joseph R Biden and his wife Jill also release 2013 tax returns, paying $96,378 in federal taxes with adjusted gross income of $407,009, effective rate of 23.7 percent. MORE

Apr. 12, 2014

Floyd Norris Off the Charts column; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development releases its estimate of total tax 'wedge;' reports that average tax on wage income is climbing in majority of countries. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Tax season brings the biggest one-time influx of money many low-income Americans see all year, but it also attracts unscrupulous tax preparers; with almost no regulation in tax preparation industry and tax code that is forbiddingly complex, billions flowing into low-income households, primarily from earned-income tax credits, present ripe target. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Food Bank for New York City, the largest supplier to soup kitchens and food pantries in the city, runs a network of 68 tax preparation sites on the side; in 2013 alone, the Food Bank helped with the filing of 48,110 returns claiming $81.2 million in tax credits and refunds, for city residents who can least afford to lose them. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Op-Ed article by law student Alex H Levy examines rise of unlicensed tax preparers, many of whom target low-income families in order to siphon refunds under the earned-income tax credit; calls for stricter regulations; contends if anything can win bipartisan support in Congress, it should be this. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Illinois Gov Pat Quinn announces his plan to make permanent an unpopular temporary tax increase, stoking a debate that is becoming central to his bid for re-election. MORE

Mar. 19, 2014

Mar. 15, 2014

New York State lawmakers appear headed to giving New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at least some financing for universal prekindergarten, but will forgo his proposed tax increase on those earning more than $500,000; anticipated failure of de Blasio's plan to raise taxes on the wealthy will represent significant setback for his agenda and may illustrate the limits of mayoral power. MORE

Mar. 13, 2014

Your Money Adviser column notes that a new, streamlined option for home office deduction is available this tax filing season, and the Internal Revenue Service hopes it will reduce paperwork hassles. MORE

Mar. 1, 2014

Wealth matters column notes two studies looking at how tax policies influence--or should influence--one's actions; observes that Stuart E Lucas, chairman of Wealth Strategist Partners, argues that if 50 percent or more of a person's investment return goes to taxes and fees, one should seek alternatives. MORE

Feb. 27, 2014

Rep Dave Camp, Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, unveils a sweeping overhaul of the 70,000-page federal tax code that would collapse seven personal income tax brackets to two and lower the corporate rate to 25 percent from 35 percent; plan receives tepid reaction from House Speaker John A Boehner. MORE

Feb. 26, 2014

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s push for a higher income tax to pay for more prekindergarten seats in city raises question of whether he can create enough seats to justify increase; answers skeptics by saying up to 29,000 seats can be opened at schools and so-called community based organizations which would be under contract with the city; de Blasio still needs support from Albany. MORE

Feb. 25, 2014

Tens of thousands of same-sex married couples are preparing to file federal income tax returns that reflect their status for the first time; milestone presents both a sense of validation and confusion as couples consider wide range of options, including re-filing past three years of returns; Q&A on common questions related to the issue. MORE

Feb. 16, 2014

N Gregory Mankiw Economic View column contends that lost in inequality debate is fact that top 1 percent of earners often create extraordinary things, and at great risk; notes in most cases top one-tenth of percent, those earning more than $2.7 million, advance the public good, in part by paying 33.8 percent of their income in federal taxes. MORE

Feb. 9, 2014

John Schwartz Essay humorously observes that if Internal Revenue Service could make filing taxes more like a game--with penalties and rewards, and fabulous prizes--maybe the process would not seem like drudgery. MORE

Feb. 9, 2014

Review of online versions of three leading tax software programs--Intuit's TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct--says they contain many of the same strengths and weaknesses of their downloadable counterparts. MORE

Feb. 9, 2014

Capital gains, dividends, and new high-income tax rate can add up to surprising investment income tax bill in 2014; tax-deferred retirement accounts remain valuable shield against huge taxes, but many people do not make the most of them. MORE

Feb. 9, 2014

Supreme Court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act gives gay couples more rights, but also means that some will have to pay higher taxes; they face dealing with matrix of state and local tax laws. MORE

Feb. 9, 2014

Several tax professionals offer their advice on how people of all income levels can better navigate the tax code and cut down their liabilities. MORE

Feb. 1, 2014

Your Money Adviser column notes that budget and staff cuts at Internal Revenue Service means less help for taxpayers with questions, but suggests some other places for consumers to turn. MORE